Beverage dispensing systems and methods

ABSTRACT

A beverage dispensing system comprises a beverage dispenser electrically coupled to a point of sale. The point of sale has an input module, a beverage selection module, and a dispensing module. The input module includes a user interface configured to receive a user identification and a beverage selection. The beverage selection module receives data from the input module that includes the beverage selection and identifies an ingredient in the beverage selection. The dispensing module receives data from one or both of the input module and the beverage selection module that includes the beverage selection and the ingredient. The dispensing module also generates a beverage dispensing instruction based at least in part on the beverage selection and the ingredient. The beverage dispenser receives data from the dispensing module that includes the beverage dispensing instruction and dispenses a beverage according to the beverage dispensing instruction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/542,701, filed Oct. 3, 2011, entitled, “Beverage Dispensing Systems and Methods,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, entitled, “Beverage Dispensing Systems and Methods,” filed on ______, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Beverage dispensing systems aid beverage serving establishments in providing efficient, accurate beverage service to patrons. At some establishments, patrons order complex beverages that require multiple and sometimes expensive ingredients. Servers and bartenders are supposed to dispense these beverages according to a known recipe or pouring protocol. Oftentimes, servers and bartenders make mistakes in dispensing or mixing beverages, which results in waste and reduces the quality of the dispensed beverage and patron satisfaction. Further, bartenders oftentimes are busy with bar patrons, but are also required to prepare beverages for servers' patrons. Bartenders may delay in preparing the beverages for the servers' patrons, which causes frustration to both the servers and the patrons.

These accuracy and timeliness issues become especially concerning when alcoholic beverages are served. Alcohol is relatively expensive and owners of establishments serving alcoholic beverages generate high revenues from serving these beverages, making accuracy a critical component to making patrons happy and maintaining business. Further, because there is strong competition patrons are likely to stop patronizing a business if the alcoholic beverage quality is low and if there is significant delay is receiving ordered beverages. These issues result is loss of revenue for the owners. Owners would benefit greatly from beverage dispensing systems and methods that help servers and bartenders increase accuracy and timeliness and reduce costs associated with serving alcoholic beverages.

SUMMARY

The present description describes examples of beverage dispensing systems and methods, the use of which may help overcome problems and limitations of the prior art.

In an embodiment, a beverage dispensing system comprises a point of sale and a beverage dispenser that is electrically coupled to the point of sale. The point of sale has an input module, a beverage selection module, and a dispensing module. The input module includes a user interface that is configured to receive a user identification and data including a beverage selection. The beverage selection module receives data from the input module that includes the beverage selection and identifies at least one ingredient, and additional ingredients, if included, in the beverage selection. The dispensing module receives data from at least one of the input module and the beverage selection module that includes the beverage selection and the ingredient(s). The dispensing module also generates a beverage dispensing instruction that is based at least in part on the beverage selection and the at least one ingredient. The dispensing element receives data from the dispensing module that includes the beverage dispensing instruction and dispenses a beverage according to the beverage dispensing instruction.

In another embodiment, a beverage dispensing system comprises a user interface, a processor electrically coupled to the user interface, and a beverage dispenser electrically coupled to the processor. The user interface is configured to receive data from a user that relates to one or more beverage selections. The processor is configured to: receive data relating to the beverage selection(s); identify one or more ingredients in the beverage selection(s); and generate a beverage instruction based at least in part on the beverage selection(s) and the ingredient(s). The beverage instruction includes data that relates to the quantity of the ingredient(s) and the manner in which the ingredient(s) are dispensed. The beverage dispenser is configured to receive data that includes the beverage instruction and dispense a beverage according to the beverage instruction.

In yet another embodiment, a method of dispensing a beverage comprises: receiving a beverage selection from a user interface; identifying at least one ingredient in the beverage selection; generating a beverage instruction based at least in part on the at least one beverage selection and the at least one ingredient; creating a beverage according to the beverage instruction; and dispensing the beverage from a beverage dispenser electrically coupled to the user interface. The beverage instruction includes data relating to a quantity of the at least one ingredient and the manner in which the at least one ingredient is to be dispensed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram that shows an embodiment of a beverage dispensing system, according to embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 2A-2D show various user interface menus for an embodiment of the beverage dispensing system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows steps in an exemplary method for dispensing beverages according to embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows an aspect of the method illustrated in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram that shows an example of the disclosed beverage dispensing system 100 that includes a point of sale 102 and a beverage dispenser 104. The point of sale 102 may be any suitable central computing device. For example, the point of sale 102 may be a central server that is either wirelessly coupled or wired to the beverage dispenser 104. Some beverage dispensers 104 may be positioned integral with the point of sale 102 and other beverage dispensers 104 are positioned remote from the point of sale 102. The beverage dispenser 104 may be any suitable dispensing element that is capable of dispensing multiple ingredients for various beverages.

The point of sale 102 shown in FIG. 1 includes an input module 106, a beverage selection module 108, and a dispensing module 110. A processor 111 may control the operation of one or more of these modules in some example configurations. Additional modules and additional functions of the processor 111, if present, may be included. The input module 106 has a user interface 112 that receives data 114 from the user including, for example, user identification 116 and a beverage selection 118. Other data 114 may be received depending on the implementation. The user interface 112 is either integral with the point of sale or remote from the point of sale. Other data 120 may be entered by the user at the user interface 112. The user interface 112 prompts the user for data or the user may freely enter data, as desired. The user interface 112 is preferably a programmable LCD touch screen with on board image storage, but other platforms such as OLED and other touch screens are also options. The user interface also may include voice-activated commands and menus either alone or in combination with the programmable LCD touch screen.

In some embodiments, the beverage dispensing system 100 includes a control board (not shown) that interprets data 114, 116 received at the user interface 112 and sends the data 114, 116 through the point of sale 102 to the dispensing system 104. The control board may mimic a scanned keypad matrix or direct serial/USB/Ethernet or other communication scheme to effect communication between the user interface 112 and the beverage dispenser 104. Any information relating to the user's beverage selection 118 and the user interface 112 is stored either on the touch screen itself or in flash memory on the control board and is user programmable, if desired.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the user interface 112 receives data from a user at the user interface 112 including but not limited to user identification 116 and a beverage selection 118. The user may be required to enter user identification 116 data before accessing any menus or other functions of the beverage dispensing system 100. User identification 116 data is any unique identifier that allows a user to access the beverage dispensing system 100. User identification data 116 is used to track a user's use of the beverage dispensing system 100 and to prevent unauthorized users from using the beverage dispensing system 100.

The user also enters a beverage selection 118 into the beverage dispensing system 100 either after an authorized user identification 116 is entered by the user or simultaneously with the user identification 116, depending on the configuration of the beverage dispensing system 100. The beverage selection 118 may include one or more beverages including sodas, juices, beer, cocktails, and the like. For example, the user is a server that would like to request three drinks for a group of patrons. The server enters an authorized user identification 116 and then enters the names of each of the selected drinks into the user interface 112. Any additional information also may be included in the server's request, such as if one of the patrons requested extra garnish or custom features of the beverage selection 118.

The point of sale 102 may include an optional tracking module 122 that tracks a user's activity on and/or the general functionality of the beverage dispensing system 100 along with a historical record of user actions and beverages dispensed. The tracking module 122 may log each time an authorized user gains access to the beverage dispensing system 100 and may log the type and quantity of various beverage selections 118. Some beverage dispensing systems 100 have a data store or other type of memory into which the data tracked by the tracking module 122 is stored. This information is used to monitor users' interactions with the beverage dispensing system 100, to track the types of beverages 118 ordered, and to monitor inventory levels of ingredients based on the type and quantity of the beverages 118 that are dispensed from the beverage dispensing system 100. Although some example uses for the tracking module 122 have been discussed here, any suitable use or ability to monitor or track any aspects of the beverage dispensing system 100 may be included.

The beverage selection module 108 receives data from the input module 106 including the beverage selection 124 from the input module 106 and identifies one or more ingredient(s) 126 that is in the beverage selection 124. Some beverage selections include multiple ingredients. For example, the beverage selection 118 is a gin and tonic cocktail entered by a user at the user interface 112. The gin and tonic cocktail includes two ingredients: gin and tonic water, which are identified by the beverage selection module 108. The dispensing module 110 receives data including the beverage selection 126 and the ingredients 128, 134 from one or both of the input module 106 and the beverage selection module 108. In some examples, the dispensing module 110 receives the beverage selection 126 and the ingredients 128, 134 from the beverage selection module 108. In other examples, the beverage selection module 108 receives the beverage selection 130, 136 from the input module 106 and the ingredients 128, 134 from the beverage selection module 108.

The dispensing module 110 generates a beverage dispensing instruction 130 that is based at least in part on the beverage selection 126 and the ingredients 128, 134, as shown in FIG. 1. In some configurations of the beverage dispensing system 100, the dispensing module 110 automatically generates a beverage dispensing instruction 130 and in other configurations, the dispensing module 110 requires input or presents other input from the user before generating the beverage dispensing instruction 130. The beverage dispensing instruction 130 includes the beverage selection 126 and all of the ingredients 128, 134 that are included in the beverage selection 126 and optionally any additional information that is necessary to accurately prepare the beverage selection 118. Such additional information may include a recipe 132 for creating the beverage selection 118, such as the quantity of each ingredient to include, the manner in which each ingredient is to be dispensed or combined with other ingredients, any garnish requested or required, the type of glass to be used, any special requests by the user for the beverage selection and the like.

In the gin and tonic example, the dispensing module 110 receives data that identifies the beverage selection 126 as a gin and tonic and also data that describes that the gin and tonic 126 includes the first ingredient of gin 128 and the second ingredient 134 of tonic water. The dispensing module 110 creates the beverage instruction 130 that includes the beverage selection 126, gin and tonic, the two ingredients 128, 134, gin and tonic water, and a recipe 132 for mixing the gin and tonic. The recipe 132 includes information such as how to mix the gin and the tonic water together, what type of glass to use for serving the gin and tonic, and to include a lime as a garnish. The beverage instruction 130 is sent to the beverage dispenser 104 that mixes and dispenses the gin and tonic. Some configurations of the beverage dispensing system 100 automatically send the beverage dispensing instruction 130 to the dispensing module 110 and others require a user-initiated prompt or other menu selection. Further, some configurations of the beverage dispensing system 100 have a beverage dispenser 104 that automatically dispenses the beverage according to the beverage dispensing instruction 130, while other configurations require or offer the option for the user to confirm this step before dispensing the beverage.

The beverage dispenser 104 is any suitable dispensing element and may be wired or wirelessly coupled to the point of sale 102 and may be positioned remotely from the point of sale 102 or may be integral with the point of sale 102. The beverage dispenser 104 handles all necessary liquid pumping/line switching tasks in order to dispense the beverage selection 118. It may include a series of containers 136 and hoses 138 from which ingredients 128, 134 for the beverages are dispensed. In some examples, the beverage dispenser 104 is a computerized liquor control system (CLCS), such as the Self-Service Cocktail Station available from Easybar, which includes various containers, tubing, sheet metal, and dispensing nozzles from which beverage ingredients are dispensed.

Some CLCSs have a computing element that receives the beverage dispensing instruction 130 from the point-of-sale 102. The CLCS dispenses the quantity of various ingredients 128, 134 for a beverage selection 118 in the manner in which the ingredients 128, 134 are directed to be dispensed according to the recipe 132. The ingredients 128, 134 are dispensed into a mixing unit 140 and properly mixed together. The mixing unit 140 dispenses the beverage selection 118 into a glass 142 or other container for delivery to the patron. Although the mixing unit 140 is shown in FIG. 1, some beverage dispensers 104, whether they are a CLCS or other type of dispenser, do not include mixing units. Any suitable configuration for the beverage dispenser 104 can be used.

As shown in FIGS. 2A-2D, the user interface of the beverage dispensing system, such as the system 100 of FIG. 1, present a series of touch-screen menus for the user to enter the beverage selection and information about the beverage selection. FIG. 2A shows an access menu 202 at which the user enters an authorized user identification 204 to gain access to use the beverage dispensing system. When the authorized user is finished using the beverage dispensing system, the access menu 202 will display again so that it “locks” the beverage dispensing unit between authorized uses.

FIG. 2B shows a beverage selection menu 206 that offers the user the ability to select various beverages including a “single” 208, “duals” 210, and “cocktails” 212. Singles 208 are shown on this menu 206 as shots of liquor including bourbon, brandy, gin, rum, scotch, tequila, vodka, and whiskey. Other configurations of the beverage dispensing system include other types of “single” shots or any other single-ingredient beverage selection. If the beverage selection is a single shot, the user selects that option and the beverage dispenser dispenses the single shot. No further menus are presented to the user in this example and the access menu 202 of FIG. 2A returns after the shot is poured.

When a user selects a “dual” 210, two ingredients are selected and the beverage dispenser 104 (FIG. 1) dispenses and mixes the two ingredients together to make the beverage selection. For example, the user may select the options for a two ingredient beverage such as a rum and cola. The user selects the rum option and the cola option from the beverage selection menu 206 shown in FIG. 2B. The beverage dispenser dispenses and mix the two ingredients in the necessary ratio and quantities for the user.

Cocktails are often the most complex beverages to mix. FIG. 2B shows an option that the user can select a cocktail 212. Creating cocktails often requires several ingredients and skilled knowledge of the ratio of each ingredient and the manner in which it is poured. Once the user selects the desired cocktail 212 from the beverage selection menu 206, the point of sale generates the dispensing instruction based on the beverage selection and dispenses the desired cocktail according to the known recipe for that cocktail. When the user selects the cocktail option 212 from the beverage selection menu 206 shown in FIG. 2B, a series of cocktail selection menus 214, 216 appear. FIG. 2C shows a first cocktail selection menu 214 at which the user is prompted to select the first letter of the name of the cocktail that has been ordered. This menu 214 in FIG. 2C shows each letter of the alphabet so that every cocktail stored in the beverage dispensing system may be ordered. The menu 214 shown in FIG. 2C also includes a “back” option that will take the user back to the previous beverage selection menu 206 if the user made a mistake in selecting a cocktail or changes his or her mind and decides to order a beverage other than a cocktail.

Once the user has selected the cocktail option 212 and entered the first letter of the name of the desired cocktail from the first cocktail selection menu 214, the second cocktail menu 216 appears, as shown in FIG. 2D. In this example, the user selected a cocktail that begins with the letter “L.” The second beverage selection menu 216 shown in FIG. 2D shows four options for cocktails that begin with the letter “L.” In this example, the user has the option to select a lemon drop 218, a long island iced tea made with well liquor 220, a long island iced tea made with premium liquor 222, and a Lynchburg lemonade 224. The user selects the cocktail from this list and the beverage dispenser dispenses the chosen cocktail, as described above.

FIGS. 2A-2D show examples of the menus 202, 206, 214, and 216 that users may be presented in a beverage dispensing system. Other configurations and additional menus may be included. For example, the user may have the opportunity to select a cocktail that is not included in the list of known cocktails by selecting an option to create a new beverage. This option may include prompts to the user to describe the various ingredients in the new beverage and the manner in which each ingredient is to be dispensed. The user may be presented with the option to save the new beverage to the beverage dispensing system or discard it.

Various additional features may be included in the menus similar to those shown in FIGS. 2A-2D. For example, pre-dispensing instructions such as the type of glass to use and whether the rim of the glass should include salt or sugar may be included as text, auditory, or image instructions to the user to prepare before the beverage is dispensed by the beverage dispenser. There may be an option on one of the menus that the user is instructed to select once the pre-dispensing activities are complete to indicate to the beverage dispenser that it can begin dispensing the selected beverage. Once the beverage has been dispensed, a post-dispensing menu may appear if steps such as adding a garnish must be completed prior to serving the beverage to the patron.

An optional final approval menu may be presented to the user once the beverage dispensing system has completed all of its tasks associated with dispensing the beverage that presents final tasks for the user to verify that the beverage is dispensed in the appropriate fashion. The final approval menu may serve as a quality control mechanism and may track the number of times that the user rejects the beverage dispensed by the beverage dispensing system and prompts the user for a reason why the beverage has been rejected. A special instruction menu may be added to any of the above menus so that the user may enter special instructions for dispensing the beverage at any step along this process, such as a patron request for something like additional garnish or extra ice.

FIG. 3 shows steps in a method of dispensing a beverage, according to embodiments. The user interface receives a beverage selection 302, such as from the user interface 112 of FIG. 1. Then a first ingredient of the beverage selection is identified 304. The first ingredient can be identified by the input module in some beverage dispensing systems. For some beverages a second or other additional ingredient is identified 306. This process of identifying ingredients continues until all ingredients of the beverage selection are identified. Then a beverage instruction is generated that is based on the beverage selection received by the user interface and the identified ingredients 308. In some examples, a recipe is identified that is based on the beverage selection and the ingredient(s) 310. The step of identifying a recipe 310 is optional and can include any relevant information on how to create and dispense the beverage. Then a beverage is created according to the beverage instruction 312 and the recipe, if one exists. Finally, the completed beverage is dispensed 314, such as by the beverage dispenser 104.

Many of the features of the beverage dispensing systems described above include computing elements, such as servers, processors, and the like. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that software, firmware, or some combination thereof may be used to perform one or more of the functions of the beverage dispensing system. For example, software and/or firmware may be used to present menus to the user at the user interface. Further, software and/or firmware, may be included in a processor that performs the functions of one or more of the input module, the beverage selection module, and the dispensing module described above. Lastly, software and/or firmware also may perform or control some portion of the various liquid pumping/line switching tasks of the beverage dispenser.

FIG. 4 shows various aspects of the optional step of identifying a recipe 310 that is described in FIG. 3. After the recipe has been identified 310, any one or more of the following steps may be performed: identify special preparation instructions for the beverage selection 316; determine garnish for the beverage selection 318; identify a glass for the beverage selection 320; and determine a quantity of each ingredient 322. The recipe may include any additional information that is necessary or requested during the beverage dispensing process.

The beverage dispensing system simplifies dispensing beverages, especially complex cocktails. It reduces the need for skilled bartenders and reduces the amount of mistakes made by bartenders or other pourers. Further, it reduces the amount of time that is required to dispense a complex beverage, like a cocktail. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosed beverage dispensing system provides additional benefits that are not described in this disclosure.

Thus, although there has been described to this point a particular embodiment for a method and apparatus for beverage dispensing systems, it is not intended that such specific references be considered as limitations upon the scope of this invention except in-so-far as set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A beverage dispensing system, comprising: a point of sale having: an input module including a user interface configured to receive a user identification and data including a beverage selection, a beverage selection module that receives data from the input module that includes the beverage selection and identifies at least one ingredient in the beverage selection, a dispensing module that receives data from at least one of the input module and the beverage selection module that includes the beverage selection and the at least one ingredient and generates a beverage dispensing instruction that is based at least in part on the beverage selection and the at least one ingredient; and a beverage dispenser electrically coupled to the point of sale, wherein the beverage dispenser receives data from the dispensing module that includes the beverage dispensing instruction and dispenses a beverage according to the beverage dispensing instruction and sends data back to the point of sale confirming that at least a portion of the beverage dispensing instruction was dispensed properly.
 2. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the point of sale and the beverage dispenser are integrated into a single device.
 3. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the point of sale and the beverage dispenser are remote from each other.
 4. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the point of sale and the beverage dispenser are electrically coupled to each other by a wireless connection.
 5. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the dispensing module automatically generates the beverage dispensing instruction after receiving the data from the at least one of the input module and the beverage selection module.
 6. The beverage dispensing system of claim 5, wherein the dispensing element automatically receives the data from the dispensing module that includes the beverage dispensing instruction and automatically dispenses the beverage according to the beverage dispensing instruction.
 7. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the user interface is a touch-screen computing device.
 8. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the beverage selection includes at least one cocktail.
 9. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the at least one ingredient includes at least one liquor.
 10. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the beverage selection includes at least two ingredients, and wherein a first ingredient includes a liquor and a second ingredient includes a mixer.
 11. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the beverage dispensing instruction include a recipe for creating the beverage selection.
 12. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the beverage selection includes at least two ingredients and the beverage dispensing instruction includes a recipe for mixing the at least two ingredients to create the beverage selection.
 13. The beverage dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the point of sale further includes a tracking module that receives data from the input module including the beverage selection and stores information relating to the beverage selection in a data store.
 14. A beverage dispensing system, comprising: a user interface configured to receive data from a user relating to at least one beverage selection; a processor electrically coupled to the user interface, the processor configured to: receive data relating to the at least one beverage selection, identify at least one ingredient in the at least one beverage selection, generate a beverage instruction based at least in part on the at least one beverage selection and the at least one ingredient, the beverage instruction including data relating to the quantity of the at least one ingredient and the manner in which the at least one ingredient is dispensed; and a beverage dispenser electrically coupled to the processor, the beverage dispenser configured to receive data that includes the beverage instruction and dispense a beverage according to the beverage instruction.
 15. The beverage dispensing system of claim 14, wherein the user interface and the beverage dispenser are remote from each other.
 16. The beverage dispensing system of claim 14, wherein the beverage dispenser automatically receives data that includes the beverage instruction after the processor generates the beverage instruction.
 17. The beverage dispensing system of claim 16, wherein the beverage dispenser automatically dispenses the beverage after the beverage dispenser receives the beverage instruction.
 18. A method of dispensing a beverage, comprising: receiving a beverage selection and a user identification from a user interface; identifying at least one ingredient in the beverage selection; generating a beverage instruction based at least in part on the at least one beverage selection and the at least one ingredient, wherein the beverage instruction includes data relating to a quantity of the at least one ingredient and the manner in which the at least one ingredient is to be dispensed; and creating a beverage according to the beverage instruction and dispensing the beverage from a beverage dispenser electrically coupled to the user interface.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the user interface and the beverage dispenser are remote from each other.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the beverage is automatically created based on the beverage instruction and the beverage is automatically dispensed from the beverage dispenser. 